


Go Your Own Way

by vestiges



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Music, Bullying, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Existential Crisis, F/F, F/M, Glee References, Glee clubs instead of guilds, Kind of a crossover, M/M, Teen Angst, but not really, more tags will be added as the story continues, there are similarities but with a distinct fairy tail twist, this is not a direct copy of glee's plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 15:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17490215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vestiges/pseuds/vestiges
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia, aspiring vocalist and social misfit who wants to fall in love while singing show tunes.Natsu Dragneel, star quarter-back and closet musician who just really wants the courage to be himself.Levy McGarden, child prodigy and victim of bullying searching for a place to belong.Freed Justine, lonely teacher and new glee club director seeking purpose.Laxus Dreyar, football coach and also sometimes unwilling life coach to misguided boys.A group of misfits from all walks of life band together and learn that family isn't always bonded by blood, that music can speak where words fail, and that there's no shame in being authentically yourself.





	Go Your Own Way

**_“Don’t run, stop holding your tongue,_ **

**_Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live,_ **

**_Maybe one of these days you can let the light in.”_ **

 

 

 

_Dear Diary,_

_My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I am going to be a star._

_Sorry, I know I say that every entry, but positive affirmations are important to ensuring my goal comes true._

_But today it’s even more important that I assert my desire. Because today marks the beginning of my journey towards its fulfillment. Because today, I auditioned for Magnolia High’s newly reformed Glee Club._

_Unfortunately, the former director was caught engaging in promiscuous affection with a student in the choir room (I may have been spying on my competition and just happened to see such a thing and report it to Principal Makarov)._

_Ahem._

_He was fired, obviously, so now we have a new director! It’s our French teacher, Mr. Justine. He helped lead the Magnolia Glee Club to nationals back in the 90s! (He’s also pretty cute, although not really my type. He’s got this long hair—and it’s green!) I just know he’ll be able foster my natural talent._

_Anyways, I got slushied again today. Grape this time. At least it was a flavor I liked, and I was wearing navy blue so you could hardly see the stain it left behind. This time it was Gajeel Redfox. He’s been even more vicious than usual lately. Yesterday he got Levy with two slushies at once! We had to skip third period to get her cleaned up, and her science text book was ruined. He’s such a jerk. Just because he’s on the football team, he thinks he can do whatever he wants to anyone. Ugh. I hate people like that._

_But anyway, my dad is calling me to dinner. Here’s to another awkward meal where we don’t face the giant elephant in the room; that mom has been dead for over a year now and her stuff is still everywhere in our house and it’s suffocating the both of us._

_Goodbye for today diary. My name is Lucy Heartiflia, and I am going to be a star._

_I just know it._

 

_*****_

 

**Sign Up Today!**

 

**Fairy Tail:**

**Magnolia High’s New Glee Club!**

 

Lucy Heartifilia

 

Levy McGarden 

 

Sting Eucliffe

 

Erza Scarlet

 

Wendy Marvell

 

Freed looked over the audition sheet one last time, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. He went over each name on the list, recalling their performances. Lucy had been phenomenal, if not a bit melodramatic—there was unarguable talent in that one, though they would have to work on her emotional authenticity. Levy was quite timid, stuttering a bit when she introduced her song (“Beauty and the Beast”), but once she began to sing, in her soft, lilting voice, she transformed to a young woman radiating confidence. Sting was a pleasant surprise; Freed hadn’t expected any boys to audition initially, but Sting pulled out a funky rendition of “Downtown” that included the boy alternating between rapping with ease and hitting each successive high note. The red-headed spitfire that was Erza had been…interesting. Her performance was more choreography than vocal work, but she had volunteered to make costumes for the club (and since Makarov had made it clear that there was no room in the school’s budget for a new wardrobe, Freed was glad to accept Erza’s offer).The final audition had been Wendy, a freshman whose voice bordered on church-choir angelic (though Freed wasn’t sure the judges at sectionals would believe she was actually a high school student; she was so damned _small_ ). 

All-in-all, Freed knew the turnout wasn’t bad considering the popularity of Magnolia High’s cheer squad. Nearly every talented young woman—and man—was snatched by Coach Minerva Orland for her internationally acclaimed team. And despite the woman’s famously sadistic methods, kids flocked to her tryouts in hopes of being good enough.

Freed wasn’t blind. He knew that there existed a delicate social hierarchy in the school, and the kids who had auditioned for Fairy Tail populated the bottom of that order. But still, he remembered with warmth the sense of belonging and pride that Glee had given him as an awkward, in-the-closet gay youth. He wanted to give these kids that same feeling, that same sense of family that had been so dear to him. And he missed music. No matter how much he loved teaching, he missed the thrill of performing, of singing. And singing in his shower to an empty studio apartment didn’t provide the same satisfaction as performing for a live audience, even if that audience was comprised of five high school misfits looking to be part of something bigger than themselves. 

He was so lost in thought that Freed didn’t notice he was headed straight for a collision until he was knocked on his ass. He groaned, rubbing his tailbone as he stood, an apology already falling off his lips until he looked up at the man he’d run into. His apology promptly died, and he felt a blush lightly heat his cheeks.

An irritated glower met his gaze, and Freed took in the shock of blonde hair and jagged scar before remembering his manners. 

“I’m sorry, I should’ve been paying better attention to where I was walking. I’m Freed Justine, the French teacher. You don’t look like a student, and I don’t believe we’ve met.” He extended a hand to shake. 

The other man’s face cleared and his hand grasped Freed’s in return. His fingers were calloused and large; it was a hand that belonged to someone who did a lot of physical labor. 

“Laxus Dreyar. I’m the new shop teacher and football coach. Today’s my first day. Heard the last guy to have my job got in a bit of an accident.” His voice was deep and a bit gritty. Freed decided he quite liked hearing it. 

“Accident would be an understatement. The man was here after hours and cut both his thumbs off using the table saw. Mind you, he’d had a bit too much cough syrup, of all things, so his motor skills were notably impaired.” The man had been an idiot, and the school was lucky to have found a replacement on such short notice. 

Laxus snorted. “I’d say. Well, it’s nice to have a familiar face around here now. I’ve gotta go meet the football team for our first practice, figure out how to whip ‘em into shape. I hear they suck real bad, and I ain’t about to coach a losing team.” Laxus grinned, and Freed’s heart stuttered. “Here, give me your number so I can text you if I have any questions about the school or something.” Freed obliged, and Laxus turned away with a cocky wave. He looked over his shoulder once more with that same self-satisfied grin perched on his lips. 

“Oh, and Mr. Justine. Do try to watch where you’re walking next time. Don’t want to have to catch ya if you start fall.” 

“Uh, yeah. I’ll do that!” Although, Freed thought it might be a bit late for the warning. Laxus was just his type and Freed was afraid he was already beginning to lose his footing. 

Internally groaning at himself— _he’d only just met the man and it’d only been for a few minutes!—_ Freed headed towards his classroom to grade papers. 

 

*****

 

Minerva was _not happy_ that Freed had somehow managed to convince the old coot Magnolia called a principal to keep Glee alive. After all, weren’t the resources wasted on that washed up club better used elsewhere. Like for her cheer squad. _She_ was the national—no, _international_ —champion, not Freed Justine. And while she had no doubt that the humdrum talent he’d found couldn’t hold a candle to her carefully cultivated team, she still desired to crush him and his trivial _Fairy Tail_ (she thought the name with the sneer it deserved) simply for daring to wrest any attention away from her prized cheer squad. 

And that desire was what had brought these three young women to her office. To the left was Juvia Lockser, blue-haired and reserved, staring at Coach Orland with calm, dark eyes. To the right was Cana Alberona, beautiful and promiscuous, Magnolia High’s resident party girl. And in the center was Minerva’s pride and joy: Mirajane Strauss. Mira was regarding her with those deceptively innocent, cerulean eyes, her white-blonde hair tied primly back, her posture perfect. She was the opposite of Minerva in looks, but that was where the differences ended. Mira was the picture of manipulative ambition that Minerva herself had been at that age, that she still was today. 

Minerva steepled her fingers, elbows resting on her desk. “Girls. You must know why I’ve called you here.” 

“It’s obvious isn’t it? You want us to spy on that upstart little club, _Fairy Tail_ ,” Cana drawled, spinning the end of her long ponytail around a slender finger. “You want us to do some recon, report back, and then take ‘em down from the inside.” She grinned. “What fun! I’ve been so bored lately.” 

“Very good. That’s exactly what I want from the three of you. Now—“

“With all due respect, Coach Orland, why is Fairy Tail even worth our time? It’s a group of singing misfits. It’s not like they’re a threat to us,” Juvia cut in, an eyebrow raised. “Why go to all this effort?” 

Minerva took a calming breath, answer ready. But Mira spoke before she could.

“Because it’s our responsibility as leaders of this school to remind people where they belong. _We_ belong at the top; we’re beautiful, talented and popular. And those freaks? Well, they need to be reminded of their place. After all, while not a threat now, whose to say they will remain that way? It’s better to eliminate potential threats before they have the opportunity to become viable competition.” 

Minerva smiled. “Precisely. I could not have said it better myself, Mira. And that is exactly why each of you will be auditioning for Glee Club. I’ve taken the liberty of informing Mr. Justine myself. Now, you’re dismissed. I’ll see you here next week for your first report.” 

As the girls filed out, matching uniform squirts swishing, Minerva tipped back in her chair and let loose a wild grin. 

Oh yes, destroying Fairy Tail was going to be too much fun. 

 

*****

 

“Gray, we’re not even in the showers yet. Why are you already naked?” 

  
“Oh shit, when did that happen?” As Gray began looking around frantically for his discarded clothes, Natsu let out a sigh. Another day, another practice. Football was fun, and Natsu loved getting to burn off anxious steam out on the field, but he also kind of hated it. He hated feeling boxed in by the expectations of his teammates. He hated that after showers were over, and everyone was dressed in normal clothes but still filled with the testosterone fueled energy of practice, they would find some poor loser to toss into a dumpster or lock in an outhouse or throw a perfectly good slushie all over. 

Natsu wasn’t such a huge fan of bullying other kids, but he also wasn’t anxious to turn his teammate’s bloodlust onto himself. So he just sort of went along with it, and he hated that too. He hated throwing Sting Eucliffe into the dumpster behind the kitchens, holding the poor kid’s designer something-or-other while his teammates hoisted him into day-old cafeteria leftovers. He hated watching Gajeel or Gray throw slushies into Lucy Heartfilia and Levy McGarden’s faces in-between class periods, and he hated pretending to laugh about it after. 

But most of all he hated himself for being too much of a coward to stand up to any of it, for being too afraid of ridicule to be himself around his teammates and so-called friends.

And today he just didn’t have the energy for it. 

So, he waited around in the locker room for the showers to empty out, giving Gray and Gajeel some feeble excuse about stretching before rinsing off. Then he stripped down, grabbed his shampoo and towel, and let the stinging hot water clear his thoughts. Only then, knowing with certainty the locker rooms were empty, did he begin to sing. 

Usually, he sang some sort of classic rock. Today, it was REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” Natsu loved to sing. His father, Igneel, had been in a band all through college and, even after the band split, his father had continued to sing. He sang when he worked on the Dragneel’s shitty Jeep, when he did the dishes after dinner, when he drove Natsu to kindergarten. And if he wasn’t singing, he was listening to the radio. And even though Igneel was gone now, singing always made Natsu feel as if his dad was standing right next to him, rocking out just as hard as his son. It was a good feeling.

But of course, being a jock wasn’t really compatible with the performing arts. Which left Natsu with only the showers as his own personal concert hall, singing his lungs out while holding a shampoo bottle as a makeshift microphone, feet slipping rhythmically across the wet tile. He didn’t indulge in this luxury often, only when the stress of constantly pretending to be someone he wasn’t finally threatened to overwhelm him.  


So it surprised Natsu enough to let out a startled yelp when he heard slow clapping after his song’s end, the Coach Dreyar stepping into the showers, an unreadable expression on his scarred face. 

“You like to sing, huh Dragneel?” 

Natsu quickly wrapped his towel around his waist like a shield, shuffling around to face Coach Dreyar. “Uh, yeah. Sometimes.” The back of his neck was warm, and he reached up to rub it awkwardly. “It, uh, it helps me relieve stress. Please don’t tell the guys. They’d crucify me.” 

His coach stared at him for a moment longer, arms crossed, before walking forward to place a hand on Natsu’s shoulder.  


“Ya know, there’s nothing wrong with singin’ and playin’ football. In fact, if you’re lookin’ to go to college, it’d be pretty good to have that kinda variety on your application. I like to have well-rounded players. Besides, a tense quarter-back is useless to his team. And Dragneel—” Coach Dreyar’s eyes narrowed, “You’re extremely tense out on the field. Don’t think I didn’t notice that fumbled pass earlier.” 

Laxus' eyes softened as he looked down at his startled player. “Look, I know in high school it seems like you have to be one thing and one thing only. But really, that’s a load of bullshit. Life don’t work that way. People don’t work that way. If you wanna sing and play football, you damn well should. I don’t know what your last coach was like but,” Laxus took a breath and looked Natsu square in the eye, “I don’t put up with intolerance or discrimination on my team. I walked that road once, when I was younger, and it don’t lead nowhere worth a damn. Mr. Justine just had tryouts for some singing club. I think joining might be good for ya, and it sure as hell’ll help the team if it helps you relax. I can’t have you going into games with yer head screwed on backwards.” 

Natsu mumbled something that Laxus strained to hear. “What was that?” 

The boy looked up at him a bit pleadingly, “I said, ‘What about the guys?’” 

Laxus scowled. “If anyone gives you any shit, they can come to me for a bit of re-education on tolerance.” He cracked his knuckles. “If they know what’s good for ‘em, they won’t need to be told twice.” 

Natsu just nodded, his face twisted in thought. Laxus sighed. The kid may not be the brightest upstairs, but he was talented—both on and off the field, it seemed. Hopefully he’d make the right choice, the kinda choice Laxus hadn’t let himself make until it was too late.  
  
“I’ve got a meeting with Principal Makarov, but think about what I said kid. Life’s too short for this kinda bullshit. Be who _you_ want, not what others expect.”

Natsu was left with a storm brewing behind his skull. Could it really be possible to sing and play ball _and_ keep his friends? He wasn’t sure. But at the very least, he could try. And if it got to be too much, then he could always quit. 

Yeah, he could always quit.

Mind made up, Natsu went to find Mr. Justine.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, welcome!
> 
> I'm so excited about this story idea! I've been rewatching Glee lately and saw a lot of similarities between the show and Fairy Tail. Both are, to a large extent, about coming-of-age, about what it means to be family, and about the true bounds of love and friendship in the face of adversity. 
> 
> Now, this story definitely draws inspiration from the show but the plot is, for the most part, tweaked to better fit the personalities of the Fairy Tail characters. Hopefully y'all like it! Keep in mind, Natsu and Lucy may seem OCC at first, but that's part of the plan for their growth and development as characters. 
> 
> Chapter title and quote from Brave by Sara Bareilles. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! See you next chapter!


End file.
